Hiring a Financial Planner

[CRLLS]

Yes. That is why I am turned off by the high advisory fees as a percentage of assets.



Also- though- if you lose $200,000 out of 1 million in a market correction, then wouldn't the advisory fee be less since it is based on a percentage of assets?

Not having a FA, I don't know. I suppose it could be paid either in advance or arrears. If arrears, it could be based on a daily average or final balance. It might be something to ask.

 

[OldShooter]

.. We actually might try to sell our home ourselves since it has not appreciated in 31 years and paying the real estate commission will make things worse for us. ... .

Be a little careful with this line of thinking. Whether or not the house has appreciated is completely irrelevant to a sale decision. If, looking forward, FSBO is the right answer that's fine. But if it's not, the value of the history of the house should not affect a decision to do something else. This is a slight variation on the "sunk cost fallacy." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost

... Also- though- if you lose $200,000 out of 1 million in a market correction, then wouldn't the advisory fee be less since it is based on a percentage of assets?

Yes, of course. Some FA's have a stepped price schedule, though, so your total fee as a percentage might rise a tiny amount.

Not having a FA, I don't know. I suppose it could be paid either in advance or arrears. If arrears, it could be based on a daily average or final balance. It might be something to ask.

I regularly see statements from a couple of FAs. Both charge their fees monthly. I assume they are calculated either on the average account balance for the month or on the month-ending balance. I have never checked however.

 

[teejayevans]

we used a fee only FP from a teferral from our trust atty and that's the only type i would ever recommend. ref ric edelman..initially i was a fan until he started preaching carrying a huge mortgage to use the funds to invest. bad, no, horrible idea. unnecessary risk.

Huge mortgage, more $ to invest, means his % of your investments is larger.

 

[ChrisC]

These last few posts (and perhaps others) appear to use the term and role of Financial Advisor as synomous or inter-changeable with the work done by a Certified Financial Planner, the latter which I think the OP was seeking.

Anyone can hold themselves out as a "Financial Advisor." I don't believe there are any licensing or certification requirements to be a Financial Advisor. Most of these Financial Advisors are Registered Representatives of Brokerage Houses or firms that sell securities to the public; in other words, these are stock brokers or account executives who might be required to pass certain exams to sell securities as required by FINRA or to sell insurance as required by other regulators. And some of these Financial Advisors are "investment advisors" who can sell securities to qualified clients. When they manage an investment portfolio you might have, including 401K or IRA retirement accounts, they do not have to meet fiduciary standards of care in managing your accounts (of course, this is a major topic in and of itself). The conventional method of compensation for their services is a percentage of the Assets Under Management you have with them -- could be 150, 100, or 75 basis points. And they might get sales commissions for the particular financial products they might sell to their clients.

On the other hand, Certified Financial Planners (CFPs) are subject to specific educational, examination and certification requirements. https://www.cfp.net/
CFPs can be registered representatives at brokerage houses, can operate independently of brokerage or traditional wired houses, or have their own wealth management operations or investment advisor credentials with FINRA. They can also provide these services under an AUM compensation arrangement and sell securities as well to their clients. A number of CFPs can also operate solely as financial planners to clients under a fee-based services compensation arrangement where the client pays typically an hourly rate for a menu of services that the CFP provides. The CFPs in perhaps all cases are subject to the fiduciary standard of care when managing your investments or financial affairs.

In any case, the FAs or the CFPs don't have the secret sauce for Social Security or Medicare/Health Insurance issues, which appeared to be a concern of the OP. They are dipping from the same well of financial information that all of us have at our disposal for Government benefit programs.

Hope this clariies things a bit.

 

[OldShooter]

... Certified Financial Planners (CFPs) are subject to specific educational, examination and certification requirements. https://www.cfp.net/ ... The CFPs in perhaps all cases are subject to the fiduciary standard of care when managing your investments or financial affairs. ...

A little more clarification:

The CFP designation is a product sold by a private corporation. It has no legal standing, although it is certainly a credential with some value. Anyone with a college degree (mortuary science, finance, accounting, English lit, etc.) can take the training and take the test. 4,000 hours of experience are required but this is a loose requirement. I have read of a financial journalist being offered credit for his "experience." There is a moral hazard here; the corporation selling the certificates is a nonprofit but the president takes home over $1M/year. So he is clearly motivated to maximize the number of CFPs paying hundreds of bucks each year to keep the designation. How this interplays with the quality of the CFP designation process is anyone's guess.

The popular idea that all CFPs are fiduciaries is simply false. As @ChrisC implies, many CFPs are fiduciaries by virtue of Series 65 or Series 66 examinations or by being "Investment Advisor Representatives" of a fiduciary registered advisor company. CFP's operate under "Rules of Conduct" that omit the fiduciary duty of "loyalty" to his/her client. This allows them to work as Series 7 "Registered Representatives" whose loyalty is to their employer. The Rules of Conduct also state: “ … the Rules are not designed to be a basis for legal liability to any third party. “ So .. literally no consumer protection there.

This fall the Rules are being changed and will look much more like the rules for fiduciaries. But in the end they are not legally binding. A CFP who violates the Rules is simply risking his CFP certificate.

So, IMO the CFP certificate is a worthwhile thing to look for when interviewing CFPs but it is important to understand what it is and what it isn't.

As always, https://brokercheck.finra.org/ should be the first stop, CFP or not. It is FINRA that has the teeth.

 

[guitarguy]

I've worked with numerous large groups of Advisors, from independents to those affiliated with mega firms, and count several FAs as friends. Go with an hourly fee, and whatever you do don't go with a % of assets... that's the fastest way to reduce your returns. And yes, FINRA is your best bet to research.

FWIW, I spent a couple decades using highly regarded FAs, tried 3 different ones. Guess what... even the best of them wasn't all that great, consistently. Most of the time I was matching or beating them on my own with index funds and dividends. For 5 years now I've been DIY, mostly index funds and dividend aristocrats (strategies never promoted by the FAs), and I'll never go back to an FA. Do a little homework, start reading articles... it's not really rocket science. But until you feel comfortable doing that, go ahead and get a good FA, set a budget as to how many hours you plan on using them, stick to your budget, and try to avoid panic calls every time the market dips. (BTW, for me, Div Aristocrats are one of the best ways to SWAN!).

 

[EarlyBirdly]

Sounds like you do get it. (a) these are businesses that make money off of managing your money. If you want their advice, it does cost $$. (b) if you are consistently hearing that you are too conservative, then probably you are more conservative than most would suggest (c) if calculations like Firecalc or I-ORP (both free tools discussed here often) show you are ok with being so conservative, it doesn't matter what others suggest.....only that you are happy with that position. (d) you have a broad scope of questions you are asking help for, maybe paying the extra money is worth it in your situation.

PERFECT.

Never pay these people...For anything. However, take all the advice you can get from them.

Advice is free, take as much as you can get, research online, and make your own decisions.

ALL of the information to the questions you have is right here at your fingertips...Online.

FREE.

None of this is as complicated as Financial Advisors would have you believe and, in this day and age of The Internet, they will probably be extinct in the next decade or so.

Good Luck, and TRUST yourself !



BirdMan

 

[OldShooter]

... None of this is as complicated as Financial Advisors would have you believe ...

Yes. Actually I was talking to an FA acquaintance one day and he admitted that his client portfolios were unnecessarily complex because if they were simple it would cause the client to wonder what he/she was paying for.

 

[meleana]

I've worked with numerous large groups of Advisors, from independents to those affiliated with mega firms, and count several FAs as friends. Go with an hourly fee, and whatever you do don't go with a % of assets... that's the fastest way to reduce your returns. And yes, FINRA is your best bet to research.

FWIW, I spent a couple decades using highly regarded FAs, tried 3 different ones. Guess what... even the best of them wasn't all that great, consistently. Most of the time I was matching or beating them on my own with index funds and dividends. For 5 years now I've been DIY, mostly index funds and dividend aristocrats (strategies never promoted by the FAs), and I'll never go back to an FA. Do a little homework, start reading articles... it's not really rocket science. But until you feel comfortable doing that, go ahead and get a good FA, set a budget as to how many hours you plan on using them, stick to your budget, and try to avoid panic calls every time the market dips. (BTW, for me, Div Aristocrats are one of the best ways to SWAN!).

What are DIV Aristocrats and what is SWAN?


All our money is essentially in mutual funds inside IRA's, though we do have one brokerage acct. with mutual funds, etfs and bond etfs and funds.


We have no other income to use for investing other than my husband 's 5% to his 401k and maxing out his Roth IRA in mutual funds as it is with our mutual fund company- T Rowe Price.

 

[EarlyBirdly]

Yes. Actually I was talking to an FA acquaintance one day and he admitted that his client portfolios were unnecessarily complex because if they were simple it would cause the client to wonder what he/she was paying for.

BINGO !

I put together my financial plan, on paper and in my head, and THEN went to a financial planner for a free consult.

The "plan" that he put together was basically what I was going to do anyway.

Simply put, it was an excellent Check and Balance to affirm what I was pretty sure I already knew.

 

[target2019]

What are DIV Aristocrats and what is SWAN?

All our money is essentially in mutual funds inside IRA's, though we do have one brokerage acct. with mutual funds, etfs and bond etfs and funds.

We have no other income to use for investing other than my husband 's 5% to his 401k and maxing out his Roth IRA in mutual funds as it is with our mutual fund company- T Rowe Price.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S&P_500_Dividend_Aristocrats
Dividend Aristocrats have increased their dividend for 25 years or more.

SWAN is Sleep Well At Night.

 

[guitarguy]

What are DIV Aristocrats and what is SWAN?

Dividend Aristocrats, Sleep Well At Night.
Since I'm retired, for me, DAs are a key part of my portfolio. I once read that the beauty of DAs is that you don't need to worry about stock price or their total value, that's something your heirs will figure out. That comment really puts things in perspective, and allows me to avoid watching the market constantly... but it's a major shift in thinking from all those years of growing your nesting egg. Since it's pretty hard these days to find good, conservative yield (like the old days when Bonds were a retiree's friend), DAs help fill that void. For me, the key is to pick stocks where dividend growth will keep ahead of inflation, while offering a long history (i.e.30-50 years) of paying dividends in good times and bad.

There are numerous articles on DAs... one of my favorite authors is Regarded Solutions on Seeking Alpha. He does a good job of explaining it, far better than I can.

 

[OldShooter]

BINGO ! ...

Yeah, well those guys have to eat, too. His portfolios are actually pretty good; he belongs to the church of Fama/French and Dimensional Fund Advisors. I just finished a two-year runoff between a two-fund benchmark portfolio I maintain and a similar portfolio with him using DFA funds. The two-fund portfolio beat by a nose, but for him to cover his fees and the slightly-higher DFA fees and still be in the horse race was IMO quite impressive. (I haggled him down to 50bps on the $100K experiment.)

In fact, @meleana, I'd suggest that you go to the DFA website (https://us.dimensional.com/individuals) and linterview a few DFA advisors in your area. DFA vets the advisors and will not let just anybody sell their stuff. If you find someone you're comfortable with, you can probably get them to do some hourly-fee planning, though of course they would also like to run your money for you.

 

[pb4uski]

I recently went through an "update" of our financial plan with Vanguard. Process is pretty easy. You do an online questionaire and schedule an appointment to talk with one of their CFPs. In the past they provide a draft plan to you ahead of time and your call with the CFP is to discuss the plan and then they re-run it if needed. This time we had a general conversation of our needs/goals and then she emailed me the plan and I opened and we discussed it for about the last 10 minutes.

The plan itself is focused on retirement cash flows, investments and safeness of projected withdrawals, but we did touch verbally on when to take SS (since we are in good health and longevity they prefer late, but waiting at least until FRA) and other common topics here.

I thought that some might be interested in their recommendations for a 60/40 AA so that is attached below. International equities and bonds is more than what I currently target and I may bump my targets up a bit. What was disappointing was that in their AA analysis and AA recommendations they limit their recommendations to money at Vanguard. While they consider all money when doing projections and assessing readiness, for advice they limit themselves to money at Vanguard.... she said for liability reasons. In my case, about 20% of my nest-egg is outside Vanguard so it makes the AA advice less useful.

 

[meleana]

I recently went through an "update" of our financial plan with Vanguard. Process is pretty easy. You do an online questionaire and schedule an appointment to talk with one of their CFPs. In the past they provide a draft plan to you ahead of time and your call with the CFP is to discuss the plan and then they re-run it if needed. This time we had a general conversation of our needs/goals and then she emailed me the plan and I opened and we discussed it for about the last 10 minutes.

The plan itself is focused on retirement cash flows, investments and safeness of projected withdrawals, but we did touch verbally on when to take SS (since we are in good health and longevity they prefer late, but waiting at least until FRA) and other common topics here.

I thought that some might be interested in their recommendations for a 60/40 AA so that is attached below. International equities and bonds is more than what I currently target and I may bump my targets up a bit. What was disappointing was that in their AA analysis and AA recommendations they limit their recommendations to money at Vanguard. While they consider all money when doing projections and assessing readiness, for advice they limit themselves to money at Vanguard.... she said for liability reasons. In my case, about 20% of my nest-egg is outside Vanguard so it makes the AA advice less useful.

Yes- T Rowe Price has a similar thing and in fact I have an appt. to speak with an advisor next Friday to update everything.


They use the Monte Carlo thingamajig. But when the original advisor of the initial plan did it, he did not put in my husbands' projected lump sum pension because he felt anything could happen with it and maybe my husband might not even get it- heaven forbid!. Plus I was still working, and thus we were saving much more money- my whole paycheck in fact.So the original plan needs an update.



Good news is I met with a prospective CFP today that is part of the Garrett Financial Group and I think he might be the one. He is local. He does a fee only plan- around $1500-$2000. Very holistic. Covers everything I mentioned in my earlier post. Was a very good get acquainted meeting. Good listener. Personable. Seems like he has an excellent background. And he, too, uses the Monte Carlo analysis.



I loved it when he said- "You can keep your investments with T Rowe Price if you want. If you were using a place like J P Morgan, for instance, you would be paying high fees and I would recommend you switch, but you aren't paying those with T. Rowe Price."



BINGO! That is what I wanted to hear!


Between using this guy- if I choose to do so and I think I probably will- and then speaking with T Rowe Price for an update, I think I will get an all around, comprehensive plan and perspective.



I have a phone meeting with another CFP on Monday- a Dave Ramsey recommendation.



Then I will make my decision.

 

[OldShooter]

Don't forget to run every candidate at https://brokercheck.finra.org/ Trust, but verify.

 

[meleana]

Don't forget to run every candidate at https://brokercheck.finra.org/ Trust, but verify.

I checked him. It said approved.


Also says " Not Currently Notice Filed"
and
" Not Currently An Exempt Reporting Advisor"


Whatever that means.


I jumped around the page and i didn't see anything weird. No judgements, etc.


Thanks.

 

[Banyan]

So I have been looking into getting a CFP to assist with our retirement transition. I have always managed our money through an account with T Rowe Price. I do the best I can, though I am no expert for sure. I play around with fire calc and the Financial Engines tool through my husband's employer and also Future Path through T Rowe Price.


T Rowe Price also has a free advisory service in terms of investment decisions. But they always want me to take our cash- which I have a lot elsewhere- banks, etc.,- and put it in stock mutual funds. They say I am too conservative. Of course, I figure they want more of my money.



But when I use their on line tool- Future Path, it tells me we have a high score of 98 and even adjusting our asset mix with more stocks the result is the same- we are good. So I don't get why they insist I need more exposure to stock mutual funds.



What we really need is someone to help us decide when to take SS; help us with financial logistics of how to sell our home and move out of state; Advise us of how to withdraw our money to live on and taxes, since we have no pensions, Medicare and health insurance, and estate planning, etc.


What I DO NOT want is to turn our money in our T Rowe Price accounts over to the Financial Planner. I want the FP to give US the advice of what to do with it and WE take it from there on our own. Maybe meet a few times with the FP and pay by the hour or visit.



These FP's all seem to want to take our money and put it into like TD Ameritrade or Charles Schwalb and put it in their choice of funds and so forth. And it doesn't look like any of the funds are ones like Vanguard or Fidelity or T Rowe Price. They do tell me these funds they use are no load and all of that.


On top of it all- they have these huge fees- every single year.



I just recently spoke with a Dave Ramsey vetted FP from Rick Edelman Financial Engines. The charge is $800 for a financial plan and then a percentage of our assets every single year. Like 1.75% on the first $400,000 and then 1.25% on the next 350,000 and then 1% on the next $250,000 and then .75% on the next 2000000.00. You get the picture.


He, too, said we are too conservative and should go with more stocks and the Financial Engine tool also says this but yet when it calculates out what we have it looks like we are good the way we are.


I just don't get it.



This just seems so way out to me. I am trying to see if I can find someone to just give us advice on what to do. I am even considering maybe trying a CPA firm who can just look at what we have and make recommendations. Maybe at a later date as we age we would get someone to take over if and when we can't.


Any advice on this? I am really confused...

If you want to simplify your portfolio and explore how you can manage it yourself, try visiting the bogleheads.com if you have not done so already

 

[bclover]

Thank you. The other side of the debate is the question of what value-added the FA is providing for his fee. I think it is pretty universally understood that he/she cannot provide market-beating experience, but there are other factors.

I was talking to a guy once who was working with Ameriprise. I gently indicated that they were not well thought of due to cost and performance. His response was a light bulb moment for me: "I know that. I know that they are expensive. But if it were not for this guy I wouldn't have anything."

Another angle I have heard from FAs is this: "If I keep my client from panic selling into down markets once or twice, I have earned more than all the fees he will ever pay me."

A good FA will also coach and badger an estate plan into being, will coach and badger health care powers, POA, etc. He/she may also be able to keep the clients from making mistakes on Social Security, pension lump sums, etc.

So IMO we need to remember that for some people the fees may be worth it.

Absolutely!!

So here's my story,My late wonderful husband was the investment guru in our coupledom. Not that I didn't have a clue but he was the guy. Unfortunately I lost him to a fast moving cancer. well I was a 40 something mom of 3 boys with different venues of money that had all types of restrictions that I didn't understand.

Anyhoo, I was a chemist so I did know how to investigate, so I found a really great FP who I kept for 3 years to I got my sea legs underneath me, did not charge me an exorbitant fee and was extremely helpful

Now I did try bogleheads but did not have a good experience there, maybe it's because I was a newbie and I got the feeling that they did not appreciate folks who were not on the same level or maybe it was because I was in morning and it was all I could do to keep my kids together but I just couldn't hang there.

 

[Dtail]

I recently went through an "update" of our financial plan with Vanguard. Process is pretty easy. You do an online questionaire and schedule an appointment to talk with one of their CFPs. In the past they provide a draft plan to you ahead of time and your call with the CFP is to discuss the plan and then they re-run it if needed. This time we had a general conversation of our needs/goals and then she emailed me the plan and I opened and we discussed it for about the last 10 minutes.

The plan itself is focused on retirement cash flows, investments and safeness of projected withdrawals, but we did touch verbally on when to take SS (since we are in good health and longevity they prefer late, but waiting at least until FRA) and other common topics here.

I thought that some might be interested in their recommendations for a 60/40 AA so that is attached below. International equities and bonds is more than what I currently target and I may bump my targets up a bit. What was disappointing was that in their AA analysis and AA recommendations they limit their recommendations to money at Vanguard. While they consider all money when doing projections and assessing readiness, for advice they limit themselves to money at Vanguard.... she said for liability reasons. In my case, about 20% of my nest-egg is outside Vanguard so it makes the AA advice less useful.

Same concept with Fidelity.
Notice no allocation to CD's/cash. No allocation to individual bonds.

 

[Canoeboy]

Hired a fee-only Certified Financial Planner (CFP) some years ago when my father passed and we needed help navigating how to minimize taxes and deal with a sizable IRA. After that assistance I hired the CFP on a flat fee basis that I was comfortable with. The CFP by contract is prohibited from making a cent from commissions, receiving kickbacks and gifts from brokers, etc. We are nearly 100% mutual funds and CD’s spread across many accounts held by both TD and VG.

After 15 years, here’s my take:

- if you need financial advice and are not comfortable with a DIY program, hire a fee-only CFP. Read contract details to confirm a flat fee (hourly or flat). Never go with a % of investments deal. Interview several CFP’s that meet this criteria before jumping.
- a good CFP provides services/advice beyond investments. Key word is “planner”
- a good CFP will help educate you along the way by ensuring you understand the why.
- ensure there are minimal complications if you decide to drop the service. For example, having control of accounts on a non-proprietary platform (ex: Vanguard)
- question the value the CFP brings annually and consider dropping the service if the cost outweighs the benefits.

Not sure I will continue with my CFP’s services down the road now that I’m retired. However, have no regrets with hiring a fee-only CFP some years ago. FYI - the flat fee currently is right around 0.1% of assets managed.

 

[meleana]

Hired a fee-only Certified Financial Planner (CFP) some years ago when my father passed and we needed help navigating how to minimize taxes and deal with a sizable IRA. After that assistance I hired the CFP on a flat fee basis that I was comfortable with. The CFP by contract is prohibited from making a cent from commissions, receiving kickbacks and gifts from brokers, etc. We are nearly 100% mutual funds and CD’s spread across many accounts held by both TD and VG.

After 15 years, here’s my take:

- if you need financial advice and are not comfortable with a DIY program, hire a fee-only CFP. Read contract details to confirm a flat fee (hourly or flat). Never go with a % of investments deal. Interview several CFP’s that meet this criteria before jumping.
- a good CFP provides services/advice beyond investments. Key word is “planner”
- a good CFP will help educate you along the way by ensuring you understand the why.
- ensure there are minimal complications if you decide to drop the service. For example, having control of accounts on a non-proprietary platform (ex: Vanguard)
- question the value the CFP brings annually and consider dropping the service if the cost outweighs the benefits.

Not sure I will continue with my CFP’s services down the road now that I’m retired. However, have no regrets with hiring a fee-only CFP some years ago. FYI - the flat fee currently is right around 0.1% of assets managed.

Yes. Right. That is what I am going to do. The guy I met with today I really liked and he is fee only. $1500-$2000 for a comprehensive financial plan. I keep control of my assets/investments. I was lucky to find him as he is the only one I could find like this that is local. And I have a member of this forum to thank for it because she recommended I go on the Garret Planning Network site.

 

[Mansderm]

I transferred everything to Vanguard. I also managed all of my own investments. But I set up vanguard so that their advisors manage the retirement accounts and I manage my cash, and brokerage account. They set up the brokerage account for me and transferred my stocks into it. My advisor knows what stocks I have and their website allows you to plug in outside investments like bank CDs, t Bill's, etc. That way the advisor knows everything you have. Mine has not pressed me at all to liquidate any non Vanguard assets and turn them over to them for management. So as it stands, I manage just under 1/2 my assets and the Vanguard advisor manages the rest. You can schedule conferences anytime and they require you have one conference a year. We just talked about social security since I will turn 62 this year. He recommended I obtain a social security statement from the soc. Sec. Site, forward it to him, and they will run all the scenarios for me and make a recommendation. Their fees are reasonable. Then to have another check on everything, I plugged everything into personal capital. It shows asset allocation, risks, some free recommendations, and it allows me to monitor charges on my credit cards. It also knows the fees paid to the advisor and rates them. So I felt pretty good with the transition to Vanguard and personal capital confirmed it was a good plan.

 

[2177V]

Have you tried Charles Schwab? They are very structured. You will be assigned a general FA who can give you general financial advice. However, Charles Schwab also have specialists. For example, there is an expert on Social Security, an expert on taxes, an expert on estate planning, etc. If the general FA cannot answer a unique question, he or she will then call that expert into the office to help. Similar to a general doctor and a medical specialist at a medical center. Impossible for a FA and anyone on the internet to know everything.

They also have a propriatary computer program which they will plug in your specific information and your situation such as age, wealth, debts, risk tolerance, goals, etc and their computer program will provide your investment options based on the historical market returns versus your risk tolerance, you goals and your situation, etc This provide consistency and quality control of FA.

They will also request to manage your money for you and your fee is a percentage of your portfolio, but you can decline. If you do decline then they may charge you a fix hourly fee for advice.

Disclosure: My daughter works for Charles Schwab and she is a certified FA by the FTC. She makes most of her money managing money for high net worth clients who are willing to turn over their money to her. My daughter wines and dines the high net worth clients but ultimately the high net worth clients "trust" Charles Schwab as an institution.

Impossible to get financial advice on the internet since it is like getting medical advice on the internet. You really have to talk to someone who knows their business and know how to ask you the right questions before you can get your answers. Finally....Check out Yelp on Charles Schwab in your area to determine if their customers are satisfied or unsatisfied. You can't yelp financial advice on the Internet.

 

[travelover]

...........
Disclosure: My daughter works for Charles Schwab........

I appreciate your honesty

Impossible to get financial advice on the internet since it is like getting medical advice on the internet......... .

I disagree. I've gotten great advice on the internet and it is up to me to filter it to what pertains to me. No one cares more about my financial well being than me, not even Charlie.